Presidential Inaugural 2013: American Ideals and Traditions


Did you watch the day long festivities surrounding Barack Obama's 2nd Inauguration on Monday, January 21st, 2013? What did you think? What did the speakers, the singers, the poet, the proceedings show about America's ideals, its history, and its future? What in the day was symbolic? Did anything you saw or heard make you proud to be an American? What were the best parts? What were the best lines? How did this ceremony connect our past and present?

Post your observations, comments, and questions to this discussion. In class we'll view the President's Inaugural Address together- and we'll also work with the text of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior's "I Have a Dream Speech" which the president referenced.

Below please find some links to the events of the day.

Introduction by Charles Schumer



Oath of Office



Inaugural Address- Text of the Speech



Inaugural Poem- Text of the Poem


Kelly Clarkson sings My Country Tis of Thee with the Marine Corps Band